Coming home from work a few days ago, I found myself thinking of something weird... How many people have not been injured by my work? Have I ever really saved a life? Could I be a hero without knowing it? Far from me the thought of being pretentious, those who know me could confirm it, this is not me. But given the work that we do in OHS, the question does arise, just as a pastry chef might wonder about the number of cakes he has produced. Obviously, cakes are easier to count than "no incident"…
The time I asked to sand the main entrance; the time I asked to change a worn-out life cable; the time I reminded the guy to tie up on the edge of the roof; once when the padlocks were not in the right place. The time that... the time that... nothing happened…
I know perfectly well that those who work in OSH are not paid by the piece; we don't count what we do. We do well when there is no incident, we work hard to make sure nothing happens.
For construction workers who, for the most part, are mostly very practical and who assess performance based on the progress or completion of activities, it can sometimes be annoying to see the site safety officer who searches and interacts with workers and supervisors, without anything concrete happening.
Now, you are wondering where I’m going with this... Well, being myself a fairly square Cartesian (According to Denis B), I must measure, perceive, note the result of my work, a matter of staying motivated and performing well.
What motivates me these days is to see the development of contractors who, slowly but surely, develop in OHS.
Concretely, when I now see the superintendent talking to me about OSH with a smile (not always a smile, but still). When the workers stop me and say: ** "Hey look!!! I got my mask on, and my vacuum is working!" Or "Check it out MAN!! I put on my harness!” When these workers come to me to ask me about the risks before they even begin their work. When I see my intern gaining autonomy and confidence. Well, it shows, and it motivates me far beyond accident frequency and other statistics at the end of the month.
And you, how do you keep yourself motivated?
NB: I am almost sure that once, at least once, I saved someone, because that time, a series of padlocks had been placed on the wrong equipment at the exit of a rotary oven, that time…
Translation for those who are not fortunate enough to go on construction sites :
** "Look François, I wear my respiratory protection and the contaminants are contained by my vacuum cleaner with an EPA filter!"
*** "Look at me, François! I took the trouble to put on and adjust my fall protection harness, even more, I am protected against falls due to my safety lanyard which I proudly hung on a conforming anchor point!"
